Are there hymns that are divinely true because they convey the accurate meaning of God’s word? If they accurately capture the sense of Scripture then we are dealing with God’s truth, and not merely “man’s words.” The truth of God’s word gives rise to truth: 

 
Years ago I was asked the following question by someone who holds to exclusive Psalmody: “Do you think it is better to sing God’s words or man’s words?” My answer: we should never sing man’s words. But I say this as someone who sings hymns (e.g., “Be Thou My Vision”).

As much as I love “Shine, Jesus, Shine,” many praise and worship songs simply cannot be compared to God-breathed Psalms! When I am depressed or miserable, I turn to the Psalms. They are the marrow of my never-dying soul.

Nonetheless, with some trepidation, I believe exclusive psalmody has certain limitations. Believe me, you do not want to walk down a dark alley with a Trinity hymnal or a Michael W. Smith cd in your hand and bump into a couple of guys who hold to exclusive psalmody. They are as zealous for the Psalms as Baptists are for lakes and grape juice.

So are the inspired words of God in the forms of Psalms to be preferred over man-made hymns in corporate worship? Should Presbyterians give up the Trinity hymnal and replace it with the Trinity’s hymnal?

Quite apart from the fact that many Reformed and Puritans did not hold to exclusive Psalmody (more than you might think), I believe John Owen allows us to answer the first question I raised above in a manner that might enable those opposed to hymnody to understand why we sing hymns outside of the Psalter.

We do not only believe that the Word of God is binding on us, but the inferences and meaning are also binding. Not only what the Scripture says, but also what it means is infallible.

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